The Land Where Lemons Grow

Gabi's Review

The scent of bergamot, neroli, lemons, clementines, oranges and citrons pervades the heady sundrenched pages of this remarkable work.

Italy's love affair with citrus has ancient origins and horticulturalist Helena Attlee who has studied citrus there for decades happens to be a gifted writer and researcher. The net result is a zesty marvel of history, horticulture, trade, culinary and medicinal anecdote that evokes the sense of place so wonderfully you can practically taste the Chinotto and Limoncello. "This wasn't the sweet syrup served in tourist restaurants, it was a grown-up's drink, strong on alcohol but stronger still on the deep, exotic, powerful taste of lemons".

This delicious book has everything, food, art, travel and history. I urge to take a stroll through these pages, through Lake Gardas lemon houses and Rococo Linonaia in the Boboli Gardens of Florence to Bova's shiny dark Bergamont groves in Calabria. Meet the great families who bequest this legacy and their antecedents who cultivate and maintain these ancient fruits to this day.

Publishers Reviews

A delightful book about Italy's unexpected history, told through its citrus fruits

The story of citrus runs through the history of Italy like a golden thread, and by combining travel writing with history, recipes, horticulture and art, Helena Attlee takes the reader on a unique and rich journey through Italy's cultural, moral, culinary and political past.